Sociology provides an insight into the world around you. It opens up opportunities for considering questions about social issues .
In year 12, students study three main topics:
Education (achievement by social class; achievement by race and ethnicity; achievement by gender; functionalist, Marxist and New Right views on education; government policies on education).
Families and Households (couples; childhood; functionalist, Marxist and feminist views on the family; demography; changing family patterns; New Right and postmodernist views on family diversity; government policies on the family).
Research Methods (positivism, interpretivism, sampling techniques, triangulation, experiments, questionnaires, interviews, observation, official statistics, documents, content analysis, life histories, case studies and longitudinal studies).
To be successful in the year 12 course, you will need to be prepared to read extensively and be able to write about a range of challenging topics and issues in depth.
In year 13, students study three main topics:
Beliefs in Society (functionalist, Marxist, feminist and postmodernist views on religion; religion and social change; secularisation debates; religious organisations; religious participation by age, social class, gender and ethnicity; religion and globalisation; religious fundamentalism; religion, science and ideology as belief systems).
Crime and Deviance (functionalist, subcultural, Marxist, realist and postmodern views on crime; crime and gender; crime and ethnicity; crime and the media; green crime; state crime; crime prevention strategies; punishment; victimology).
Theory and Methods (primary methods; secondary methods; positivism and interpretivism; functionalism; Marxism; feminism; symbolic interactionism; phenomenology; ethnomethodology; postmodernism; objectivity and values in sociology; sociology and social policy).
To be successful in the year 13 course, you will need to be prepared to read extensively and be able to write about a range of complex topics and issues in depth.
All modules are assessed by written examination. At the end of year 13, students will sit three 120 minute exams. This will lead to an A Level qualification in Sociology.
Paper One: Education with Theory and Methods
Paper Two: Topics in Sociology (Families and Households and Beliefs in Society)
Paper Three: Crime and Deviance with Theory and Methods.
A Level Sociology is a very demanding course and all students will need to complete timed exam practice papers on a regular basis.
601/3994/8
Mr M Wilkinson
AQA
Students are expected to have 5 Grade 5 GCSEs including:
Grade 5 English Language
This course is a very useful qualification for any occupation which involves working with people such as journalism, law, business management, teaching and the police.
For those wishing to proceed to Higher Education, Sociology is useful for the study of subjects such as Law, Politics, History, English and other Social Science subjects.